Chapter 15

“Our computer system is being accessed by the Vargon ship,” Annette said from her com console.

Then, she and Jenny abruptly disappeared. Their holographic presentations just vanished.

“What happened?” Bonnie said.

The Vargon ship replied, “Vargon artificial life forms have been assimilated into the ship’s workings.”

I thought, “This is too weird.”

Then the voice in my head said, “You are a telepath. You know the passcode; please provide the passcode.”

I was stumped; I didn’t know what to think, and the ship was now in my head. It was believed that only a federation officer should be able to do so.

I thought, “I need a hint?”

The Vargon ship replied, “You are a telepath. You need only ask for a reset of your passcode and then give me a new code.”

‘What the hell was this?’ I thought.

I gave up, shrugged my shoulders, and thought, “Reset. The new passcode is...” I paused and tried to think of something, then smiled and thought, ‘Wedding.’

The Vargon ship responded, “You can not use the same code as the old one. Please provide a new passcode.”

Bonnie, “I think that means you know the passcode.”

So I thought, “Cancel reset.”

“Canceled. Please provide a passcode.”

I thought, “Wedding.”

“Pass-code accepted. Command and Control is transferred to the telepath named Sam. I am at your command.”

“How do we dock with you?”

The Vargon ship replied, “Accessing a database, reference term: ‘dock.’ Ah, do you wish to load your ship onboard the command ship? Yes?”

I thought, “Yes.”

I felt the ‘My Love’s’ landing gear deploy, and then there was a brief disorientation. The ‘My Love’ was now sitting on what looked like a fighter deck on an old-style carrier vessel. The only difference was that everything looked new.

“Air samples show that our breathing mixture is adequate,” Bonnie said. Then she added, “Wait, the mixture is changing.”

I stared at Bonnie in disbelief.

The Vargon ship then said in my head, “Optimal breathing mix for your body chemistry is ready. You may now depart your ship.”

Bonnie thought, “Do you have a name?”

The Vargon ship talked into my head, “Commander? I have a question from the other telepath onboard your ship. Do you wish me to reply to her?”

“Yes,” I said, adding, “She is my First Officer. You will always reply to her as if she were me.”

I even recognized the reference to ‘Commander’ as my title.

“Logging telepath Bonnie as Captain of Vargon Command Ship [unpronounceable sound].” It then responded to Bonnie, saying, “Yes, I have a name.”